Thread: Almost got squished by my car!

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  1. #1 Almost got squished by my car! 
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    The car dealership where I get my oil changed told me the other day that I had developed a couple leaks on my car. One of them was a transmission pan leak, easy enough fix, right?

    So I had some free time on my hands last night, so I decided I was gonna change the transmission filter, and gasket, since I'm 95% sure the leak was just from a bad gasket. So I jack the car up in the front, stuck a jack stand under there as well (safety first), and roll on under laying on the creeper. While I was under there unscrewing all 800 bolts that hold the transmission pan on (what a PITA BTW), I started to notice things getting slightly "snug", but I just thought it's cuz I was rolling further back under the car. Well a few seconds later, I noticed it started getting REALLY snug under there, to the point where I had to slightly struggle to get out from under the car.

    Apparently what had happened was that the jack was slowly letting the vehicle down on top of me. I hadn't raised the stand up high enough initially I guess, but it was raised high enough to where it did stop the vehicle from coming down on top of me and crushing me. That scared the living bajesus out of me. I was thanking my lucky stars afterwards.

    On the plus side, changing my filter really seems to have helped. It no longer bangs into Drive, and doesn't have a hard drop in RPM's as I'm cruising from 30-50. I was not expecting that at all. My old one must've been plugged up pretty bad or something.

    So take note kids: Always use jack stands! You never can tell when a jack is going to fail, and crush you!
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  2. #2 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GrandPrix Junkie dpzelenak's Avatar
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    Same thing happened to me but at work on a lift

    SMGPFC Member #10
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  3. #3 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    Moderator dsmuts's Avatar
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    That's why i just bought a new jack my old one was leaking oil really bad. Now I have a 2 ton aluminum race jack and it is tits.
    98 GTP modded 1.9's, sd headers, 3.4", zzp 1.0 230K miles scrapped.
    04 Comp G zzp stb's, UMI ta's, Speedbuilt sways, bully flo heads, XP, zzp headers, fsic, thrasher shift kit, 60#, 2.6" corsa 2.5", Inferno hood
    01 gt z7 turbo tep trans zzp motor
    08 g8 gt cam exhaust 11.87@118
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  4. #4 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
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    Yeah we have a 3 ton floor jack. Not sure of the brand. We live on a farm so it's had a lot of heavy use over the last few years. Never noticed it have any sort of leak or anything though, which is why I was so surprised it was coming down on me.
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  5. #5 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GXP Level Member ctracer's Avatar
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    damn you lucky!! glad to see youre not made into a flatbread sandwich lol
    07 Black GXP.
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  6. #6 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    Turbo is the way to go. BillBoost37's Avatar
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    Never ever trust a jack. Always set the car on teh stands and relieve pressure from the jack. Even with stands under it, if it's much higher than the stands, the jack could lose a seal that allows it to drop instantly. The hit to the stands may knock them over or bounce off etc.

    You get one life, don't become an episode of 1,000 ways to die.
    I drink..so consider that when reading my posts.

    2010 Audi A6 Dual IC's
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  7. #7 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    I live here. SlowNA06's Avatar
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    I've seen jacks and jackstands sink into driveways before due to soft asphalt in hot sun, changing angles and making cars fall. Not cool.

    And while we're at it - Chock your wheels when you've got the front or the rear in the air.
    Irridium spark plugs last 100k mi and work just as well as copper. Copper is a waste on N/A and only lasts 15k mi. Don't use Platinum.
    Use 195* tstat unless you can thoroughly explain why not; 99.9% don't need a lower temp.
    Almost any oil filter, ever, is of higher quality than ACDelco. Spend $6+.
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  8. #8 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GTX Level Member tod1d's Avatar
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    Apply the parking brake when jacking up the front end.

    2007 Pontiac Grand Prix
    http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2990036
    L26, CAI, HV3, ER Rockers, PLOG, Overkill Tune, flipped dog bones
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  9. #9 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    I live here. SlowNA06's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tod1d View Post
    Apply the parking brake when jacking up the front end.
    Not a replacement for wheel chocks. Trust a guy.
    Irridium spark plugs last 100k mi and work just as well as copper. Copper is a waste on N/A and only lasts 15k mi. Don't use Platinum.
    Use 195* tstat unless you can thoroughly explain why not; 99.9% don't need a lower temp.
    Almost any oil filter, ever, is of higher quality than ACDelco. Spend $6+.
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  10. #10 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GTP Level Member dmahlikGT's Avatar
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    Or you can use ramps like i do, you wont have to worry about any fails except your cars brakes which rarely happens.
    04 GTP-3.6 pulley, custom tuned, Intake, headers,thrush exhaust, al104 plugs, 180* stat, shift kit, flipped mounts

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  11. #11 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    Turbo is the way to go. BillBoost37's Avatar
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    FWIW I didn't want to go into too much extra length before.

    1. Chock wheels, brakes or parking pawl are not replacements for these solid manual safety's.
    2. Never trust a jack to hold something overhead.
    3. If using stands on a driveway, give the home owner a break and use some small plywood pieces to distribute the load and not dig up the driveway.
    4. Use an aluminum jack with caution, many of them have had seal failures more often than steel based on the pressure and material used.
    5. Make Drunkie jack up his car if he ever stops over.
    I drink..so consider that when reading my posts.

    2010 Audi A6 Dual IC's
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  12. #12 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
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    even jack stands are scary, my friends dad got killed....

    The New 1031 Fresh FM West Lorne Man Killed While Repairing His Vehicle Local News

    West Lorne Man Killed While Repairing His Vehicle
    AM980

    4/15/2011

    An Elgin County man is dead after being crushed under his own vehicle.

    Provincial police say 72-year-old Peter Pinter was repairing his vehicle around 5 p.m. Thursday afternoon when it slipped off the jack and onto him.

    He was found by a family member and pronounced dead at the scene.


    Pinter was working on the vehicle at his Main Street home in West Lorne.
    make sure the ground is sturdy, even, level ie somewhere safe

    and the jack stands are in good shape
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  13. #13 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
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    Yeah the ground was sturdy. It is a concrete floor in a heated shop, so I wasn't worried about the jack or stands sinking into the ground like it might on a hot asphalt driveway. I'm just glad I had the jack stand there. If for some reason I didn't, and the car would've come down on top of me, and somehow I survived that, I would've been screwed anyways, cuz nobody knew I was in the shop, and my phone was in the car.
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  14. #14 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GTP Level Member dmahlikGT's Avatar
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    Everytime im under my car i always think something is gonna fall and whack me in the face or crush me. Dont know why but after a while i get so comfortable i could sleep under there. Weird i know
    04 GTP-3.6 pulley, custom tuned, Intake, headers,thrush exhaust, al104 plugs, 180* stat, shift kit, flipped mounts

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  15. #15 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
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    Quote Originally Posted by dmahlikGT View Post
    Everytime im under my car i always think something is gonna fall and whack me in the face or crush me. Dont know why but after a while i get so comfortable i could sleep under there. Weird i know
    LOL. I worked on my Fiero all summer rebuilding the suspension, I struggled a lot in the front end- I took a nap or 2 under that car in the burning sun. Legs were way more tan than the rest of me, I guess thats what happens when your buddy snaps a steering rack bolt off in the front crossmember and you spend hours trying to drill/ extract/ torch/ and just overall curse out that damn bolt lol.

    The Fiero survived hurricane Irene sitting on 4 stands with the front end sky high, so properly chocked+ on stands (on asphalt/ concrete) there should be no worries
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  16. #16 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    Modded for Maximum Slow burgundybullet's Avatar
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    Do I hear Official Safety Thread?


    1978 Oldmobile Cutlass Cruiser (crushed)
    2000 Grand Prix GT (Revived DD)
    2001 Grand Prix GTP Special Edition (Weekend Warrior)
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  17. #17 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GTX Level Member 97gtpjoe's Avatar
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    I never ever go under my car unless I have 2 jack stands and THE Jack sustaining the car plus my wheels if everything else fails ( I hate being under my car , reason why I take it to the local self-service center and have it lifted. )
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  18. #18 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GTX Level Member 97gtpjoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by burgundybullet View Post
    Do I hear Official Safety Thread?
    More of a "Common Sense" thread
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  19. #19 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    I AM PEWPIN! rynoman03's Avatar
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    Sadly i need a new jack as well because this happened to me last time i used my jack. I noticed it came down on both of my jack stands and the jack wasn't even holding. POS Craftsman jack.
    1999 GTPHP Tuned, Ported SC/TB, 42#'s, SSAC's, ZZP Modded 1.9's/LS6 Springs/Manley's, TransGo Shift Kit, Poly Uppers, KYB GR2's/Springtech's. - 231k and traded it in. - Gone
    2000 GTP: XP, P&P'd Heads, N*\Lq4 MAF, GenV, 42#'s, PRJ Rails\FPR, Racetronix, TEP w/ 3.29 Gears, 300m, 7/8" chain, SSAC's. - Collecting dust in my garage.
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  20. #20 Re: Almost got squished by my car! 
    GTX Level Member 97gtpjoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rynoman03 View Post
    Sadly i need a new jack as well because this happened to me last time i used my jack. I noticed it came down on both of my jack stands and the jack wasn't even holding. POS Craftsman jack.
    Doesn't Craftsman give you lifetime warranty on there tools? I would try to take it back and get a new one
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